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Orion Black
Orion Regulus Black '(18 May, 1929 - 24 December, 1991) was a pure-blood wizard, and the second child and only son of Arcturus Black III and Melania Macmillan, the brother of Lucretia Prewett (née Black), the husband and second cousin of Walburga Black, and the father of Sirius III, Regulus IV, Altair II, and Aquila. He was also a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, an old wizarding family and one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Orion was born in Grimmauld Place, a hidden manor located in Islington, London, and continued to live there after he married his wife, Walburga. It was there that they had four children, spread out over a span of twenty-one years. Biography Early life (1920s-1950s) Orion was a member of the traditionalist pure-blood House of Black, who looked down on any except other "respectable" pure-blood wizards and believed in pure-blood supremacy. He was the son of Arcturus Black III and Melania Black (née Macmillan), and the younger brother of Lucretia Prewett (née Black). He was born on 18 May, 1929, to much pomp and celebration. His birth was announced in the Daily Prophet. Orion was the new Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, and witches and wizards around the United Kingdom were often interested to see photographs of the tot, which were published in the Daily Prophet. His paternal grandfather was Sirius Black II, who was the Head of the House of Black at the time. His paternal grandmother was Hesper Black (née Gamp), who passed away in Orion's first year of life, meaning that he never got to know her. His maternal grandfather was Ambrose Macmillan, then Head of the House of Macmillan, and his maternal grandmother was Blodwen Macmillan (née Carrow). Before leaving for school, he was instructed in the ways of his Noble House, and studied several languages, including French, German, Latin, and Gobbledegook. He learned calligraphy, astronomy, and many other subjects in his early childhood. Orion led a relatively lonely childhood compared to his father, Arcturus. His father had a multitude of first cousins and had been socialised from the beginning of his childhood to the end of it, but Orion had very little cousins and no one to play with. He hardly cared for such childish games as a result, and became a most impressive and studious student instead. He enjoyed the company of his elder sister, Lucretia, but eventually found her irritating. Hogwarts years (1940s) He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from September 1940 to June of 1947, and owned a wand made of hawthorn and dragon heartstring, which he presumably purchased from Ollivander's Wand Shop in Diagon Alley or abroad. He was a student of Slytherin House and was sorted on 1 September, 1940. He shared a dormitory with his second cousin, Alphard Black, as well as three other boys. He was on friendly terms with his other second cousin, Bartemius Crouch Snr, as well. He was polite with Ignatius Greengrass but did not get on well with Reuben McKinnon at first, as none of the boys did. According to Alphard Black, Orion was the one to protect him when others who failed to understand his health issues at first began to tease him mercilessly. Orion apparently was quick to step up and prevent those in Slytherin from doing so. For the first few years of school, Alphard stuck close to Orion as well as Reuben McKinnon, though Orion himself did not get on with McKinnon. In Orion's third year of school, the Chamber of Secrets was opened by Tom Riddle, which resulted in the petrification of four muggle-borns, and the death of a Ravenclaw student in Orion's year, Myrtle Warren. Another student in Orion's year was framed for her death, Rubeus Hagrid, as well as an illegal acromantula he'd been hiding in the school, which was passed off as the monster. Orion was made Prefect in his fifth year by Headmaster Armando Dippet, and that year he was invited to join the Slug Club, a highly-selective group of students put together by the Potions Master, Professor Horace Slughorn, who somehow saw their potential, whether it be through powerful spells, high grades, or other means. In his sixth year of school, he was hospitalized in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries for "unknown reasons," but he made a quick recovery and was back at school by the end of Easter. The incident made the second page of the Daily Prophet, but no one knew what had happened. It was likely that Sirius Black II was forced to pay many people off to hush it up. However, it was no secret that Orion's second cousin, Alphard, was a sickly individual and many attributed the incident to that. Despite this, Orion left Hogwarts with a total of eleven N.E.W.T.s, which was highly impressive. His father did not acknowledge his achievement, however, as he himself had gained twelve N.E.W.T.s when he had been in school, and considered high marks an expectation and not something to be rewarded. For quite some time, Orion did not have a happy adolescence. There were some days where Arcturus reportedly feared for his relationship with his son, who resented the family (but mostly the idea of marriage). Orion developed a temper in his Hogwarts years and for a period of two years after graduation disappeared. He kept in contact with his grandfather, Sirius II, but not his father. After it was revealed to Arcturus's granddaughter, Aquila, that Orion had a long history of depression, Arcturus made the speculation that Orion used his suicide attempt, which occurred when he was sixteen, over his mother's head, forcing Melania to promise that he would not have to marry a society witch and blackmailed her to fund his trip around the globe, which is what he took during this period of time he was not married and he was not in school. Arcturus later overrode Melania's promise to Orion when he found out, and Orion hated him more for it. Arcturus arranged for Orion to marry his second cousin Walburga, with the help of his own cousin Pollux, who Orion was indifferent about. Orion eventually agreed, but it took at least eleven years. He perhaps may have hoped, at one point, that he might find real love elsewhere, but at last was resigned to consider that the idea of marrying Walburga was better than marrying a witch who was ugly or even more irritating. Engagement and marriage (1958) Eleven years after leaving Hogwarts, Orion married the daughter of his father Arcturus's cousin Pollux. Orion and Walburga were second cousins. Orion originally did not want to marry anyone, and there may have been some wrangling on Pollux and Arcturus's part to get him to agree. Arcturus likely threatened his son with arranging him to marry a decidedly more unpleasant witch, and because Orion and Walburga had known each other since childhood, Orion was eventually forced to agree. Walburga, on the other hand, had always been infatuated with her second cousin, which Orion had found odd. However, Walburga was nearly thirty-four when they entered the courtship, which was considered late for a society witch. It was entirely possible that she had been waiting for Orion, who was nearly thirty and still unmarried. Orion and Walburga married on 28 June, 1958. Much like his parents before him, the ceremony was heavily covered in wizarding media. At this time, the Blacks were the wealthiest wizarding family in Britain, and Arcturus Black, having taken on the Headship in 1952 upon the passing of his father, Sirius II, was the wealthiest man in the British wizarding world. Mid-life (1959 - 1990s) Orion's first child was born on 3 November, 1959. The infant was christened Sirius Orion, though Orion had reportedly, according to Arcturus III in his declining years, become a father somewhat unwillingly. Sirius Orion Black's birth was celebrated in the Daily Prophet and many childhood photographs were shared with newspapers by Orion's mother, Melania. The name had been chosen by Orion out of respect to his grandfather, Sirius II. Arcturus and Melania lived in with the couple for the first three years of their grandson's life, at Grimmauld Place. Orion's sister, Lucretia, had long since moved out, and lived in Oxfordshire with her husband, Ignatius Prewett. Their second child was born on 23 April, 1961. It was Walburga who christened him Regulus Arcturus, both in honour of her father-in-law's brother, Regulus I (who had recently passed away in 1959), and in honour of Arcturus himself. Orion reportedly argued but Walburga insisted, and it might have been possible that Walburga herself did not want to name the child after her own father, Pollux. After the family expanded, Orion's parents moved out of Grimmauld Place and into one of the quiet Black family properties in the countryside. Orion's children, Sirius and Regulus, were often brought to stay with them there. Sirius himself has positive memories of the Black's countryside home in Cornwall, but does not remember what his father did during this time. Orion did have the tendency to become depressed and ignore his children, and this was somewhat common when he and Walburga were raising Sirius and Regulus. His father, Arcturus, often interfered and arranged family outings whenever this was the case, and in adulthood, Orion was past the point of resentment, and participated as he was told. The First Wizarding War (1970 - 1981) The early effects of First Wizarding War had taken hold around the House of Black: a wizard by the name of Voldemort had declared himself a Dark Lord, taking advantage of a charged political climate to do so. In 1968, Orion would have been around to witness Nobby Leach exit his office for mysterious health reasons. Around the same time, a conspiracy theory surfaced that Leach had been poisoned by his Muggle-prejudiced advisor, Abraxas Malfoy. Leach was then replaced as Minister of Magic by Eugenia Jenkins, who, like her predecessor, was sympathetic to issues of social justice. Squibs then began marching for their rights, which spurred pure-blood supremacists to riot. Throughout the 1960s, with various minority groups demanding to be treated as equals, many of the old, elite pure-blood houses, to which Orion himself as well as almost all of the Death Eaters belonged, increasingly felt that their very way of life was being threatened. Many pure-blood supremacists who did not join the ranks of the Death Eaters nonetheless gave their wholehearted support to Voldemort's cause in secret even still. This included Orion's wife Walburga, who was increasingly swayed by the news of the day. Orion's son, Sirius, received his Hogwarts letter in July 1971. However, on 1 September, 1971, Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, an act which greatly offended most of the family. Orion's wife was the most angered by Sirius's sorting, and wanted to disown him, but Orion's father, Arcturus, talked her down, and as the Head of his House, refused to do so. Arcturus might have been certainly disappointed that Sirius hadn't made the noble house of Slytherin, but his approach was pragmatic, and the family took no action. Orion himself saw his wife as extreme, and told her so. As their two children aged, Sirius became even more of a severe disappointment to Orion's wife, Walburga, because he did not agree with the ideology of blood purity. Orion was indifferent and although he may have actually harboured a deep resentment for his son, he did not show it as much as his wife, if he did. Sirius further attempted to tick off his parents (particularly his mother) by decorating his room with posters from the muggle world depicting bikini-clad women and motorcycles, and had stuck those to the walls with irreversible sticking charms that infuriated her. During most of his adolescence, he remembers his father as an absent person, who did not interfere in their spats. At one time, he called his father "''weak." Voldemort later launched a revolution against the British Ministry of Magic with the intention of toppling it, in 1975. He announced his intentions in private of creating a new world order run by pure-bloods with Muggles kept in utter bondage servitude and Lord Voldemort himself as the immortal ruler for all time. He hosted society parties while silently recruited others for his cause. Those that became apart of his organisation were first known as Walpurgis Knights, and then later as Death Eaters. Orion's wife, Walburga, likely attended some of these meetings. To achieve these ends, the Death Eaters and their allies (including the particularly destructive Giants) began openly carrying out attacks on Muggles for sport and to show chaos. Cleaning up these attacks, healing survivors, modifying memories, searching for the perpetrators, and attempting to prevent future attacks occupied more and more of the Ministry's time and attention. As their confidence grew, the Death Eaters began targeting Muggle-born and blood traitor witches and wizards as well, torturing and sometimes killing their victims, which shocked wizarding society. Other "inferior" magical beings such as house-elves (who were treated like vermin) and Goblins (a family of which was slaughtered) also suffered under their reign of terror. To inspire yet more terror, the Death Eaters would cast the Dark Mark in the sky over every house or scene that they killed at. Orion's niece, Bellatrix, decided to join the organisation in 1975. Voldemort had taken Bellatrix under his personal wing, sharing with her his personal-secret knowledge of the Dark Arts; and inspiring in Bellatrix a delusional-psychotic attraction bordering on loving obsession, which Voldemort never honestly returned. That same year, Orion either read about or witnessed Eugenia Jenkins get ousted as Minister of Magic, and get replaced by Harold Minchum, a hardliner who placed more Dementors around Azkaban. In addition, the new ruthless Head of the Council of Magical Law, and Orion's former schoolmate at Hogwarts, Bartemius Crouch Senior, rose rapidly through the Ministry's ranks until he also became the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Minchum and Crouch then began to make serious headway, though the anonymous and elusive Death Eaters still retained the advantage. Orion likely read about this in the paper. The next year, in 1976, Orion's son, Sirius, ran away from home. His father, Arcturus, visited Grimmauld Place himself, and witnessed Orion's wife holding a candle to their son's depiction on the Black family tapestry, an artefact that has been around since the 16th century. Arcturus tried to convinced Walburga that Sirius would come back to them, but he had been blind to the real issues that had been clouding Grimmauld Place, and was unable to get through. He had a conversation with Orion, who informed him that Sirius had become increasingly rebellious over the last few years, flaunting his Gryffindor house affiliation and disdain for his family's pure-blood values. Arcturus realised that he could not blame his daughter-in-law for what she did, but maintained his refusal to disown Sirius from the house completely, as that option was irreversible and permanent, and, according to testimony to his granddaughter, Aquila, in 1991, he still "held an old man's naive hope that Sirius would come back to them". Orion's second son, Regulus, aged 15, became the defacto Black heir following Sirius's flight. Regulus, who was a Slytherin, and a child that was often overlooked by all those except his parents, though he had wonderful accomplishments, was apprehensive at first. He, too, hoped that Sirius would return, but as time went on and that became less and less likely, he began to take up the mantle of the Black family heir. Walburga arranged for Regulus's cousin, Bellatrix, to take him on a Death Eater rendezvous, where he met many pure-bloods who had all been inspired and radicalised by the Dark Lord Voldemort. Orion likely did not have any idea of this until Regulus announced proudly that he had joined the Dark Lord. The war had picked up and the amount of missing witches and wizards that were not pure-bloods was climbing into the hundreds by 1978. Orion, according to his father Arcturus, had begun to feel that his grandson had made a mistake taking a side, and while Arcturus at the time had little influence over Bellatrix, he felt that she had erred as well. Regulus and Bellatrix's choices officially allied the House of Black with the Dark Lord Voldemort. Walburga had also donated a great amount of money to Voldemort's cause, which was an action of her own doing. Orion was hardly pressed about stopping it, as he himself was a pure-blood and a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, although it is rumoured that he did not agree with Voldemort's agenda. Orion may have felt helpless as he watched his younger son descend into darkness, initially believing him to have been completely radicalised by those preaching pureblood supremacy. He likely believed that Regulus had been partially responsible, in some way, for the murders of many, though he was not yet done with school. However, this was precisely the opposite. Regulus, in fact, had realised that he had erred in joining the Dark Lord. He was sixteen when he joined, and for some time, naively believed that he was going to participate in the "cleansing of the Wizarding World." He had been inspired by his cousin Bellatrix and threatened by his mother, and Orion did not care about him enough to stop him from doing so. It was not but a month after Regulus joined when he quickly became incredibly disenchanted with the cause's insane and brutal leader. In February 1979, Voldemort requested the use of Regulus's personal house-elf Kreacher, and then callously left him to die. When Kreacher managed survive and to return home over Valentine's, Regulus deduced that Voldemort had created a Horcrux and then attempted to destroy it in March, over the Easter holidays. This failed, and resulted in his violent death at the hands of the Inferi, though he did manage to replace the locket with a fake and entrust the real Horcrux to Kreacher. Orion did not know any of this. When Regulus went missing, like so many others had, Orion's parents, Arcturus and Melania, stayed at Grimmauld Place with his weepy wife, who made posters for the Daily Prophet. Regulus had not yet finished school when he went missing, and had not even sat his N.E.W.T.s before he was declared dead at seventeen- a month before his eighteenth birthday in April. Walburga turned to Orion, for comfort but he had fallen on the drink. It is important to note that Sirius III once said that his father was an alcoholic throughout his adolescence, and most likely was repeating habits that he had already developed. Orion did not begin drinking because his son had died, but his drinking did ''increase past the point of it being unhealthy. Birth of a third and fourth child (1980) In April of 1979, Walburga discovered that she was pregnant. She had not touched her husband for several years before that, according to Arcturus, who Orion must have told. At the time, Orion ordered her to get rid of it, but Walburga argued and cried that she wouldn't. Granted, because Sirius refused to come back to the family, and their younger son, Regulus, had passed away, the Black family could have used another heir, but it is likely that their third child was not intended for this purpose. Orion's only daughter, Aquila, considered her older brother an accident, and herself an intoxicated creation by her mother (who might have yearned for the closeness and a replacement for her younger son, who she had lost). Walburga made the announcement that she was pregnant, to the family at a supper for Regulus's wake. Arcturus and Melania, as well as Orion's father and mother-in-law, Pollux and Irma Black (née Crabbe) (Walburga's parents) were skeptical and expected that due to the stress and grief in losing Regulus, the foetus would not survive. However, it did. Orion's wife, Walburga, gave birth to a baby boy, who she named Altair Regulus, on 7 January, 1980. Arcturus, Melania, Pollux, and Irma welcomed the new life with more skepticism, as they believed that Walburga and Orion would not be fit to raise another child. Walburga named her favourite niece, Bellatrix, as godmother, and her husband, Rodolphus Lestrange, godfather. Orion became severely depressed and although he had been for quite some time, it took a turn for the worse around this time of his life. Although it was his wife, Walburga, who threw herself into raising Altair, she had developed a manic and unhealthy coping mechanism, which involved coercion and sex. Two months after her third baby was born, Walburga realised that she was pregnant once more, and visited her mother-in-law's residence to be sure. In late March of 1980, Arcturus put his foot down. He believed that Walburga had coerced Orion into conceiving two more children through magic- likely the Imperius Curse or something similar. He considered that the first time may have well and truly been an accident, but after Walburga announced that she was, again, expecting, just two months after she had given birth to Altair, he was furious. Arcturus sent Walburga to stay with her parents, Pollux and Irma, along with the newborn baby Altair, and ordered his son to tell him whether he had planned any of this with Walburga. Orion had not, and seemed confused and not entirely lucid at the time. This also may have just been a side affect of the alcohol, which he reportedly consumed regularly. Arcturus deduced that Walburga had definitely attempted something, perhaps in desperation, grief, or madness, and determined that it would be best to keep them apart. Orion's fourth child, and only daughter, Aquila Walburga, was born on 4 November, 1980, in the same year as Altair, though the two children were almost eleven months apart. She was born only a day after Orion's son Sirius had been, though twenty-one years after the fact. Following her birth, Orion stayed at Grimmauld Place for some time. Walburga soon returned there when Aquila was but a few days old. The newborn baby girl was thought to have looked like Orion himself by his own mother, Melania, who quickly fell in love with her only granddaughter. Orion's son Altair, however, was close to the spitting image of Regulus and most adored him, including, begrudgingly, Arcturus and Orion himself. Though Orion hadn't wanted either of them, much like he hadn't wanted Sirius and Regulus at first, he began to seem happier, slowly. Later life (1980s) Walburga made the decision to raise their two younger children with an idea of the mistakes that she had made with Sirius and Regulus. As a result, Altair and Aquila were raised under immense pressure and were punished severely if they did not act according to their station in life. Walburga never professed that she was grateful for her two youngest children, and Orion was too miserable to safely teach them the ways of the Wizarding World. Arcturus eventually decided to step in and allow Orion to be separate from Walburga when he chose. Surprisingly, in 1983, Orion returned to Walburga of his own free will and spent a lot of time with his children, which then distracted him from his problems. Decline, death of son, and death (1991) Orion's youngest son, Altair Black, did not receive his Hogwarts letter on the 31st of July when they were meant to be sent out. For years, Orion's wife had been paranoid her son was not performing magic, but fell to her own daughter's tricks to make her believe he had done so. Orion called Altair into his personal study and snapped. Walburga recalled entering her husband's study in the evening of the 30th of August and witnessing Orion beating her son, and when their daughter, Aquila, tried to interfere, she ordered her daughter to stop. Orion killed his youngest son, Altair, on the evening of the 30th of August, 1991, while his wife watched. She had allowed her husband to take care of the ordeal, and as a result of the disownment of her eldest son, the First Wizarding War, and other contributions, Orion and Walburga's morals had become twisted in a way that could not be rectified, and they decided that a dead son was better than a Squib. Walburga informed the public that her husband and two children were also suffering from an illness in August 1991, just before Orion's great-nephew, Draco, was due to begin Hogwarts. Fearing the worst, Orion's niece, Narcissa, attempted to visit the family but was turned away by Walburga. News came out later that Altair Black had succumbed to Dragon Pox. The decline in Orion's well-being was immense and almost a sight to behold in the four months after the death of their son, Altair. By 1959 and 1961, Orion had fathered two children with Walburga somewhat begrudgingly, as it was required of him by the family, as the heir, and as was outlined in their marriage contract. However, his father, Arcturus, later separated them both by force in 1980, when he learned that their third and fourth child had been conceived unwillingly. Very little is known about Orion's health in the years between 1980 and 1991, as his daughter, Aquila, refused to talk about it. What ''is ''known, however, was that during Sirius and Regulus's childhoods, Orion was still often absent and a dreadfully imposing person when he ''was ''home. In the case of Altair and Aquila, Orion's father was past the point of hoping that Orion would be interactive, because he was so miserable, and Arcturus decided to step in and allow Orion to be separate from Walburga when he chose. Orion returned to Walburga of his own free will. Arcturus soon became convinced that something was wrong, psychologically, with his son, that Orion would choose to return to a woman that abused him, and a woman that abused her children. He then retracted his theory, when he realised that Orion was trying to see Regulus in Altair and Sirius in Aquila, and was trying to re-experience the infant years of Regulus and Sirius's lives before it all went wrong- Arcturus estimated that the cutoff was around the time Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, when Walburga started hurting her son and didn't stop. This explanation was given to Orion's daughter, Aquila, before Arcturus himself died in February, 1992. From the year 1980 on, Arcturus tried to be as constant in his son's life as he could, which perhaps helped Orion see that not everything was awful. Orion did, however, compartmentalise, and existed in his own somewhat precarious world, as a father to two small children, and that was it, and Arcturus tried to help him, but found himself out of his depth. After Altair's death and murder, Orion fell deeper than he ever had before into a spiral of guilt and self-destruction. Not all is known about Orion's final months. He was eventually found in his study, hanging from the rafters, on Christmas Eve, 1991. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, who were visiting with their son Draco, who had arrived home from school, were the ones to find his body. He was 62. Post-mortem (1991-) Draco and Aquila were kept out of the room while the Ministry got involved, and Walburga herself was witnessed by a Ministry employee, Edalbert Crimble, yelling at her dead husband and screaming about his selfishness. Orion did not leave a will. After the death of her husband, Walburga became prone to psychotic rages, and frightened her daughter so much that she begged to come live with Narcissa Malfoy, which she did. During that time, Walburga was alone, but Aquila returned to her mother by at least the spring of 1992, the spring before she was to receive her Hogwarts letter. Aquila was accompanied by her mother to Diagon Alley in the summer of 1992 when indeed, her Hogwarts letter arrived. Walburga left her daughter at Gringotts while she visited the vaults, but returned knowing that Aquila had snuck away. Her daughter met Ginny Weasley there, who was accompanied by her father, Arthur Weasley, who was employed at the Ministry of Magic's Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. Walburga was extremely cross that her daughter, Aquila, had supposedly snuck away from Gringotts, and personally insulted the Weasleys when Arthur was within earshot. Arthur, having learnt his lesson after his brawl with Lucius Malfoy, decided not to engage. That was one of the last times Walburga Black was seen in public. She was in mourning for the rest of her life, and never wore any other colour except black. Orion's father, Arcturus, passed away in February 1992 of a health condition likely developed by stress. He was aged 91, and the Headship of the House of Black immediately passed to Sirius Black III, then still imprisoned in Azkaban. Orion's daughter, Aquila, was Sorted into Gryffindor House the night of 1 September, 1992. Aquila and her best friend, Ginny Weasley, had been writing in a cursed book that Lucius Malfoy had slipped into Ginny's cauldron during one of Ginny's summer visits to Diagon Alley. The individual that they believed was writing back to them was a boy called Tom Riddle, and he possessed Ginny, forcing her to write her own goodbyes on the wall in blood and open the Chamber of Secrets, which had coincidentally been opened for the first time while Walburga and Orion were at school. Orion's daughter followed the Weasley girl down into the Chamber and they had to be rescued by Ron Weasley, Ginny's brother, and Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, both fellow Gryffindors. Walburga punished her daughter severely for the stunt and Aquila was not allowed to write her friends over the summer. Aquila ran away from home in the last two weeks of August and went to the Burrow in Devon, where the Weasleys live. That July, Orion's eldest son escaped Azkaban, which no wizard had ever done before, and Walburga faced an inquiry from Ministry Aurors over the incident. She told the Aurors who were looking for Black that she had disowned him long ago and that he was "''never any son of mine". The Aurors noted that the woman was prone to alcoholic tendencies and had a bit of an anger problem, as she kicked them out of her house. Aquila returned to school in September 1993, and Walburga was drinking so much alcohol that she did not care where her daughter went or what she did. Walburga barred herself in her room and refused any visitors, and never wrote Aquila again. Walburga spent the Christmas of 1993 at one of the Black family properties in Tisbury. Through early January, she reportedly felt "weak and unwell", and by mid-January she was "drowsy ... dazed, and confused". She joined her husband Orion, and sons, Regulus and Altair, in death, on Friday, 22 January 1994, at half past six in the evening, at the age of 69. Her niece, Narcissa, was by her side. After Walburga's death, a will was enacted that formally bestowed the entirety of House of Black's wealth on her youngest. Sirius Black III, despite being an Azkaban inmate and therefore should have been unable to inherit anything, was officially cut out from the will, even though he had already become the Head of the House of Black by rite of blood and magic. The guardianship of Orion's youngest child, Aquila, was awarded to Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Appearance Orion had black hair and grey eyes, the typical traits of the House of Black. Much like the rest of the Black family, he was tall, well-built, and darkly handsome. He greatly resembled his father in face, so much, that Professor Horace Slughorn exclaimed of twins when they first met. Personality and Traits As a child, Orion was described by his father, Arcturus, as one "easily frightened and somewhat prone to tears". This changed as he grew older, as he developed a temper, but in his childhood, he was lonely and reserved. He did not take to other children as fluidly as did his elder sister, Lucretia, and often lamented of practicing socialisation. He defended his haemophilic second cousin, Alphard, from teasing, in their first few years of Hogwarts, showing that at one point, he knew how to stand up for someone and do what was right. However, things changed. In his adolescence, he was hosptialised by what his daughter Aquila suspected was a suicide attempt, and suffered through mental illness throughout his later childhood and through his entire adulthood. This eventually culminated to his death by suicide at 62, but not many measures were taken in order to prevent this. He was never treated for mental illness and he never admitted to struggling with depression, though many could see it, they just did not care. Orion had an estranged relationship with his father in his youth and used his suicide attempt to wrangle his mother into promising that he would not be forced to marry. This, along with his rebellious streak in the late 1940s, made his father once worry that he might lose him. Arcturus later overrode the promise Melania made to Orion in 1956, which Orion hated him for. He was more concerned with Orion not fulfilling his family duty over his happiness, which was something that he later regretted when Orion and Walburga had two more children that Orion most certainly did not consent to having. Orion was abused by Walburga, both emotionally and physically, from around the year 1970 to 1992. He kept the violence away from his two oldest children, and later his two younger children, but Sirius, at least, remembers one instance where their arguments ended with Walburga cursing his father with an Unforgivable. Sirius never spoke of this with his father, and never admitted to witnessing it, for fear of Orion becoming angry, but later shared it with his sister Aquila when she became an adult. Overall, Orion was a deeply depressed individual. At one point, he might have hoped for true love, but settled for his familial obligations and following his father's orders. He was an unhappy person and an emotionally absent father to all four of his children. His second son, Regulus, fell in with the wrong crowd at school, and were Orion around to correct that, it may have prevented Regulus's eventual disappearance and death. If Sirius was given proper guidance or support in his youth, then perhaps he would not have papered his room with muggles on motorcycles and fallen out with their mother, or acted out of the need for attention, purposefully antagonizing his mother. It might not have culminated into the explosive argument and his escape from Grimmauld Place at sixteen. Nevertheless, Orion was what he was, and nothing could have changed him. Despite being emotionally absent from his children's lives, he did teach them Government Structure, practiced French, and played with them as very small children, even if they remember very little of it. Magical Abilities and Skills As the heir to a Noble and Ancient House, Orion was instructed and forced to succeed in many areas of magic. He was more than proficient in a number of fields, though he never got a chance to use them, as his father outlived him as Head of House. * '''Transfiguration: Orion was highly proficient in Transfiguration and earned an Outstanding on both his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s in this subject. * Charms: Orion was highly proficient in Charms and earned an Outstanding on both his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s in this subject. * Potions: Orion was highly proficient in Potions and earned an Outstanding on both his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s in this subject. * Astronomy: Orion was highly proficient in Astronomy and earned an Outstanding on both his O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s in this subject. As a member of the Black family, he studied the stars from an early age and knew many constellations and their positions before attending Hogwarts. He also was the one to instruct his children in the subject, as was the same for him, and his father, Arcturus. * Dark Arts: As a member of a dark-leaning pure-blood House, Orion knew plenty of dark spells before attending Hogwarts. * Wandless and non-verbal magic: Orion was incredibly skilled at both wandless and non-verbal magic, which in the Wizarding World, is particularly difficult to master. His father taught him when he was a teenager, and he later also passed that down to his two oldest sons. His younger children did not receive as much of an education, as he died before he could teach them. * Defensive Charms: Orion Black must have had an extensive knowledge of defensive magic. While he resided at 12 Grimmauld Place, he cast on it every single security measure known to wizardkind, including a Muggle-Repelling charm. These charms were still effective long after Orion's death. * French: Orion was instructed in the French language from an early age and as a result, he could speak it fluently. * German: Orion was instructed in the German language from an early age and as a result, he could speak it fluently. Etymology Orion, like many members of the House of Black, is named after a constellation. Orion is a very prominent constellation, known as the Hunter. Contemporary astronomical imagery has Orion next to the "river" Eridanus and two hunting dogs, one of which contains the star Sirius, the name of Orion Black's older son. In Greek mythology, Orion was a giant huntsman who angered the gods, and was subsequently killed by the great scorpion after which the constellation Scorpius is named. In other versions of the tale, Orion is actually killed by Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, when she is tricked by her brother, Apollo, who is jealous of her love. Apollo bet Artemis that she couldn't hit a small mark down in a river, which was actually Orion's head, visible above the water as he was swimming. Artemis, not realising what her brother was making her do, shot Orion in the head. She then became distraught upon finding out about her mistake. Category:Characters Category:20th century individuals Category:House of Black Category:1920s births Category:1990s deaths Category:Individuals Sorted in 1940 Category:English individuals Category:Pure-bloods Category:Married individuals Category:Slug Club members Category:Dragon heartstring cores Category:Hawthorn wands Category:Slytherins Category:St. Mungo's patients Category:Death by suicide Category:Taurus Category:Individuals from Middlesex Category:Residents of No. 12 Grimmauld Place Category:House of Gamp descendants Category:House of Macmillan descendants Category:Hogwarts prefects Category:Descendants of Salazar Slytherin